In a small Chinese village in Yunnan, a young woman named Xiwen sees her little son Shitou die of poisoning from adulterated food. On the other side of the world, in Italy, Matteo works on behalf of Feng, a multinational based in Hong Kong that traffics counterfeit food. To avoid arrest, Matteo escapes from Italy, saving a precious shipment of Feng's food, and this begins his unscrupulous climb towards success. At a time when he is enjoying the greatest prestige within Feng, Matteo meets Xiwen by chance, who has opened a restaurant in memory of his son and is fighting for the authenticity of food. Neither of them imagines that from that moment their lives will be turned upside down.
Acting
Zhang Jingchu devastates as a mother channeling grief into activism.
Direction
Barbareschi directs himself into deliciously slimy territory.
Production
Yunnan villages vs. European boardrooms — visually striking contrast.
Director
Luca Barbareschi
Luca Barbareschi
Matteo
Zhang Jingchu
Xiwen
Carl Ng Ka-Lung
Zhao
Alessandro Haber
Capitano Poloni
Gary Lewis
Gregory Poulson
Frank Crudele
Tomas Hodek
Branko Đurić
Valerio
Kenneth Tsang
Signor Feng
Michael Wong
Commissario di polizia Xi Chan
Vincenzo Alfieri
Infiltrato
Eddy Ko Hung
Mr. Lao
Ankie Beilke
Ragazza
Nicole Russo
Josephine
Angelica Barbareschi
Giovane Ragazza
Timothy Martin
Paulus
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Barbareschi based the counterfeit food plot on real 2008 Chinese melamine scandals that killed infants.
The film's Italian-Chinese coproduction mirrors its themes of globalization — and barely got distribution in either country.
CN
IT
